China avoids climate change discussion despite extreme weather
ReutersAug 11, 2023
On Saturday morning, Typhoon Saola made landfall in the Chinese province of Guangdong after leaving a path of devastation in neighboring Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen, where the storm killed at least one person.
More than 900K residents were evacuated from Guangdong and Fujian provinces, schools and businesses were shuttered, and hundreds of flights were canceled as the cyclone – with winds exceeding 125 mph – moved closer.
As climate-induced disasters continue to rip through China, the fallout has ignited a public outcry that's fallen on deaf ears. The people of China understand the environmental changes, but when they search for answers, they're met with state propaganda that outlines China's fight against climate change and the lack of action from other developed countries. The government's actions are transparent in that the people see the lack of action for what it is: failure.
Despite the brewing conflict between the US and China, Beijing's leadership has committed to working with Washington on the issue of climate change. While China leads the world in coal-based emissions, it's prepared to tackle this issue, but at its own pace without international interference. Chinese President Xi Jinping's priority is the energy security of the nation; emissions reduction will follow while the administration works steadily and diligently to curb the impacts of climate disasters.
There's a 60% chance that China's CO2 emissions will peak before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.